Moon Sworn (Riley Jenson Guardian #9)(48)

I laughed softly and draped my arms around his neck. “To be honest, I never really considered it before. But if these last few days have taught me anything, then it’s been crystallizing what, exactly, I want from my life. And making our relationship official is my number-one priority. Well, that and breaking free of the Directorate’s leash.”
“And a more perfect way of celebrating your return I could never have imagined. I will adore marrying you.” He kissed me again, softly and sweetly. “I guess we now need decide just how soon and what type.”
I grinned. “The vampire sounds anxious.”
“The vampire has long considered you his, but to make it official—” He stopped and simply looked at me for a moment, and in his gaze and expression was enough love and joy to light up our solar system. “—that was a dream I’d thought impossible. So yeah, let’s get this done quickly.”
I laughed softly. “I’m not going to change my mind, you know.”
“I know that, but fate hasn’t exactly been kind to you over the years, so let’s get this done before something stops us.” He dropped another kiss on my lips. “As to how, I don’t really care. Human mode or wolf, whichever way suits you.”
“Swearing our love at dusk, on the night of the full moon, will take away the emotional desire for others, but it doesn’t actually kill the ability to have sex with anyone else. But the lack of desire might prove a problem considering you can’t live entirely off my blood and you prefer to take blood during sex.”
“Prefer, not must. And if swearing to the moon brings you and me together as one, then I will top up my blood the regular way—donations via the arm or neck of willing participants—or via that revolting synth stuff.”
I frowned. “I thought you didn’t like the blood whore clubs?”
“I don’t. But there are certain establishments that cater to those who prefer their donations from those who aren’t hooked on the giving, or who prefer little or anonymous contact.”
I raised my eyebrows. “How can a donor be anonymous when you’re sucking their neck or arm?”
“By the careful placement of screens.”
“How come no one knows about these establishments?”
“Because their whole purpose is to cater to the rich and/or the famous—those who don’t want to be seen consuming in public, and who can afford to pay for the privilege of anonymity.”
“Ah. These things always come down to money.”
“Of which I have plenty,” he said. “So, how swish do you want our wedding?”
I laughed. “A werewolf ceremony is a simple one. You, me, close family—because we sure as hell won’t be swearing anything without letting Rhoan and Liander in on the action—and the moon. Clothes are optional.”
“Now, why am I not surprised about that?”
“It also involves sex.”
“Given it’s a werewolf ceremony, I’d be surprised if it didn’t.” He paused, and said reflectively, “Maybe that’s why the ceremony with Eryn didn’t work. We said the words but didn’t go through the motions.”
Eryn Jones was the wolf he’d been engaged to before I’d met him. Only, she’d used an experimental “love” drug to snare him and had been after little more than his money. He’d caught her exercising her werewolf nature with several willing wolves, and he’d made her pay by snatching her memory and giving her a new life—that of a hooker.He wasn’t a man you ever wanted to betray.
“Well, all I can say is thank God, because otherwise we would not be here today.”
He smiled. “So maybe I should start forgiving her?”
“Might be an idea.”
He nodded, his expression somewhat distracted as he trailed his fingertip down my neck.
I licked my lips, and said, “So you’re happy to go with the werewolf ceremony?”
“It’s what you’ve always dreamed of, isn’t it?”
“One of the things, yes.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Although I wouldn’t mind exchanging rings. I’m a big believer in those old-fashioned things.”
“Something for me, something for you. It’ll be perfect.” I kissed his fingertips as they trailed back up and across my lips, then snuggled my body closer against his. Felt the hardness of his rising erection, the excited pounding of my pulse. “And do you know what would be the perfect way to celebrate our upcoming nuptials?”
“I think I can guess,” he murmured, a heartbeat before his lips claimed mine.
From that moment on, there was little talking, only kissing and caressing and lovemaking.
And it was perfect.
* * *
It was nearly four by the time we got to Mickleham. There was little traffic on the roads and few lights on in any of the houses. Our target was situated in the Mount Ridley estate, which was basically dozens of mini-farms ranging in size from two acres to eight. There weren’t a whole lot of trees or cover to be had, but given the time, I doubted there’d be too many people up and about to notice us.
Quinn slowed the Porsche and all but crawled past the property.
“Three life-forms inside,” he said softly.
I glanced at him. “You can see that from this distance?” There had to be a good acre between us and the house.
He smiled. “You may have infrared, but you don’t have a vampire’s blood hunger. That makes all the difference when it comes to sensing life within walls.”
“I guess it does.” I looked back at the house. In the darkness, it looked like a squat and ugly box, but it was two stories high and dominated the skyline. There were no lights on in the house, and there didn’t seem to be any animals grazing or sleeping in the paddocks.
“I’m betting it’s not as peaceful as it looks. They wouldn’t be that careless.”
“There will probably be alarms on the house, at least,” he agreed. “And we also have the problem that, as a vampire, I can’t go into the house. Not without an invite, and I very much doubt they’re going to extend one.”
“So, we need a distraction.” I paused as we cruised past the boundary of our house and another—slightly prettier—one came into sight. A light shone in one of the rooms on the first floor. Night owls were not what we needed right now—not when they were right next door to a house we needed to break into. I glanced at Quinn. “How well can you act?” 
He raised an eyebrow. “Did you know I was once a very sought after actor in Elizabethan times?”
Amusement ran through me. “Weren’t Elizabethan actors considered rogues and treated with suspicion?”
“Only initially. Once the queen began granting licenses to the aristocracy for the maintenance of troupes, acting became more regulated and the actors’ popularity increased greatly.” He smiled, almost wistfully. “That was a very enjoyable period of my life.”
“Meaning there were lots of women to be had, no doubt,” I said with a grin.
“Of course,” he said, amusement warming his words. He swung the car into a driveway and turned around. “Although it’s been a while since my stage days, so my acting skills are probably rusty. But I think I could manage a passable drunk looking for his lover’s house. If I make enough noise, it’ll hopefully distract their attention.”
“It’s extremely difficult for vamps to get drunk,” I said doubtfully. “Given that the men inside that house won’t be human and will sense what you are almost immediately, do you think they’ll buy the drunk act?”
“Just because it’s difficult doesn’t mean that it doesn’t happen.” He shifted the gear into first and drove back past the house. “Besides, there just happen to be several bottles of Dom Perignon sitting snugly in the backseat. I’ll tip a little over me for increased verisimilitude.”
I gave him a look of utter horror. “And waste such fine champagne? That’s criminal.”
He chuckled softly. “I said a little. The rest we can save for later.”
“Well, that’s all right then.”
He drove back past the house and continued on to the end of the street. Once there, he pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. “How long do you think you’ll need to get to the house?”
I glanced at my watch. “Five minutes should be enough. I doubt they’ll have much in the way of sensors or alarms in the paddocks—the wildlife would play havoc with them. I’ll just have to be more cautious near the house.”
He nodded then handed me a cell phone. “Take this, because you may need to prove who you are to Lyndal. And be careful. I don’t want my wife-to-be getting too messed up before our wedding night.”
“Trust me, I’ve had more than enough excitement lately to last me a lifetime.” I returned his kiss briefly, then opened the door and climbed out.
The night was crisp and cold, and the darkness somehow more intense with the absence of street lighting. I ran across the road and climbed through the wire fence. It was tempting to simply run down the road, but if someone was up in our target house, then a lone runner at this hour of the night was going to raise all manner of suspicion.
Not that someone jogging across paddocks wasn’t.